LIBRARV OF 



CONGRESS 




014 499 852 2 



f 

F 317 
.B6 P4 
Copy 1 



BISOAY^E BAY, 



DADE CO., FLORIDA, 



Bet-ween th.e 25th. and. 36th. Degrees of Latitude. 



A COMPLETE 



MANUAL 



INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CLIMATE, 

SOIL, PRODUCTS, ETC.. OF THE LANDS BORDERING ON 

BISCAYNE BAY, IN FLORIDA. 



ALBANY: 

WEED, PARSONS AND COMPANY, 

1876. 



<%\^ 

W' 



INTRODUCTION. 



The information contained in the following pages has been 
carefully collected almost entirely by Mrs. James E. AValker, of 
Albany, N. Y. The facts stated are but a small portion of the large 
amount of material in her possession. The compiler has endeavored 
to give due credit to all by name whose statements are given, so that 
none may sujDpose he has either draAvn upon the resources of his 
imagination or appropriated the ideas and language of others as his 
own. 

HENRY E. PERRIXE. 

June, 1376. *^ 

In our northern States there are thousands of health and pleasure 
seekers who every fall eagerly hasten away from comfortable and 
luxurious homes to escape the rigors of approaching winter. Of 
late years the current of travel has been constantly increasing, being 
directed more and more toward that portion of our country which, 
beyond dispute, can now claim to be more healthful and free from 
disease than any other section of the Union. The statistics furn- 
ished by the Surgeon-General of the United States establish this 
fact. He says : " The diseases which result from malaria are of a 
much milder type in the Peninsula of Florida than in any other State 
in the Union. These records show that the rates of deaths to the 
number of cases of remittent fever has been much less than among 
the troops serving in any other portions of the United States. In 
the middle division of the United States, the proportion is one death 
to thirty-six cases; in the northern, one to fifty-two ; in the southern, 
one to fifty-four; in Texas, one to seventy-eight; in California, 
one to one hundred and twenty-two; in New Mexico, one to one 
hundred and forty-eight; Avhile in Florida, it is but one to two 
hundred and eiglity-sevcnJ' More will be said upon this subject 



; 



further on. The facts compiled in this little pamphlet with great 
care, are not intended alone for the benefit of the invalid and mere 
seeker of pleasure. They are to attract the attention of the large 
number of people who for many years have been struggling in 
the various avenues of business, in our cities and large towns, 
men whose earnings, even if large in the aggregate, have been each 
year swallowed up by the increased cost of living in these later days. 
For those who would like a home in a more genial clime, where 
they can, by patient industry, within from two to six years, lay the 
sure foundation for a permanent income, where the expenses of 
living are not more than about one-fourth as great as in the north, 
these pages will surely be of interest and will repay them for the time 
consumed in their perusal. The peninsula of Florida extends ab- 
ruptly from the main land of the continent, in a direction a little east 
of south. It is nearly 400 miles in length, and has an average width 
•of 130 miles. Its formation is peculiar. Every other peninsula in 
the world owes its existence to a central mountain chain, which 
■affords a stubborn resistance to the waves. Florida has no such 
elevations, and mainly a loose, low, sandy soil. It has another pe- 
culiarity. It is said, that at no other point in the world do the 
trade winds divide, as at Cape Sable. On the one hand, passing up 
the east coast to the Atlantic, and on the west into the Gulf of 
Mexico. This it is that produces that wonderful equability of 
climate, that puzzles a northern man to understand, why it should 
' be so much cooler in summer than at the north. The base of all 
southern Florida is limestone, not tertiary, but modern and coral- 
line. This it is that prevents all miasma, and this decomposed 
limestone with its admixture of vegetable mold, makes the best soil 
in the United States for the introduction of tropical plants. This 
it is, also, that causes the difference in fertility of this soil, as com- 
pared with the siliceous sand of the more northern part of the 
State. Biscayne Bay is located on the south-eastern coast of Flor- 
ida, between the twenty-fifth and twenth-sixth degrees of north 
latitude, below the frost line, and is included within the limits of 
Dade county. The following facts are quoted from the "Florida 
Settler and Immigrants' Guide," prepared by Dennis Eagan, Com- 
missioner of Lands and Immigration : " The climate of Dade county 
is exceedingly agreeable and conducive to health. The therm ometer 
throughout the year shows a temperature of about seventy-five 
degrees, the extremes being fifty-one and ninety-two degrees. It 
is never visited by frost, and the heat in midsummer is much less 
oppressive than at New York or places further north, being tempered 



\ 



by the influence of the Gulf Stream, which flows within a few 
miles of the coast. The water is pure and good. Many fine 
springs are found in diflerent parts of the country ; some of them 
mineral springs of considerable value. The everglades, which are 
within the limits of Dade county, simply consist of a shallow lake 
of vast extent — the water is from six inches to six feet in depth, 
and teems with aquatic and semiaquatic plants, which present 
to the eyes of the beholder a scene of perpetual verdure. Out of 
the surface of the lake rise innumerable small islands, which are 
covered over with a growth of cypress, sweet bay, crabwood, mastic, 
cocoa palms, cabbage palmetto, and live and water oaks. The 
waters abound in turtles, fish, etc. Around the margin of the ever- 
glades is a prairie, from half a mile to a mile in breadth ; * * * 
this prairie comprises some of the richest land to be found in the 
United States, and has a productive capacity for every variety of veg- 
etable life known in the tropics Ihal is liusmpasoed. - '•'■ * * 
Between the margin of the everglades and Biscayne Bay and Barnes 
Sound, there is a strip of land from three to fifteen miles in breadth. 
It is for the most part rocky pine land, and some portions have a 
considerable elevation above the level of the ocean. The deposits 
are oolitic and crystalline calcareous rock. In the vicinity of the 
bay the laud is covered with an undergrowth of sago palm, called 
the coontie, probably from the Indian designation of the root. It 
yields an excellent article of starch, and also farina, which cannot 
be distinguished from Bermuda arrow root, except by the aid of 
the microscope. The soil is well adapted for the cultivation of sea 
island cotton, which is here perennial, and can be picked at almost 
all seasons of the year. Along the bay tobacco, equal to the besc 
grown in Cuba, can be cultivated" (yielding from five to seven 
cuttings each year), " while every variety of tropical fruit can be 
grown successfully. The banana, plaintain, cocoanut, guava, sapa- 
dilla, pomegranate, mamma, tamarind, pine-apple, lime, lemon, and 
citron. Limes are so abundant in some places that they literally 
cover the ground. Grapes ripen in May. The finest varieties of fig 
are found in great abundance. The olive tree yields an oil equal to 
the best of Lucca. The castor oil plant is also very productive, 
and the Sisal hemp of commerce, from which the best of cord- 
age is made, is wonderfully abundant. Sugar cane grows to a 
great heiglit, and ratoons from seven to ten years. The tomato 
gets to be a stout bush, with hard, woody stalk, and bears con- 
tinually. Biscayne Bay abounds Avitli a great variety of (ish, and 
is also the favorite haunt of the green turtle; it here finds an 



6 

abundance of the peculiar seaweed it prefers and on which it 
thrives and fattens, and the water swarms with them. Key West 
offers a market for all that can be caught, and turtle catching, in 
this section, is a most lucrative employment. Sponges are very 
abundant, and a large trade is now carried on in Key West in this 
article. The sponges taken from these waters probably realize for 
the gatherers fifty to seventy-five thousand dollars per annum." 
Northern persons, in going to this section, must leave behind them 
all their preconceived ideas as to soil, for they will find that the above- 
mentioned rocky pine lands are ''the very hest" for the cultivation 
of most of the tropical fruits, but the prairie lands, to use the lan- 
guage of Col.M. A. Williams (the State agent for the survey and lo- 
cation of the lands granted to the State by the general government), 
'' are inconceivably rich, beyond description," and are well adapted 
to the growth of the most exhausting crops of sugar cane and to- 
bacco. L. D. Stickney, says in his pamphlet on Florida, " It is a 
great mistake to suppose that sugar cannot be made to advantage 
without the investment of large capital. The cane produced on less 
than ten acres of ground, is usually ground in a wooden mill, which 
does not cost more than $100 (generally the work of the farmer him- 
self), while the juice is boiled in the common utensils of the kitchen, 
or at best, as the New England farmer manufactures his maple 
sugar. The yield is usually greater, in proportion to the stock 
worked, than where the machinery has cost ten or fifteen thousand 
dollars! Cane is cultivated with more ease than corn, not requiring 
so much hoeing. From midsummer to the time of harvesting, the 
hands may be employed in other business; and even at the time of 
taking off the crop, no great increase of hands is required, as in 
Louisiana or Texas, where frost prevails. One hand can cultivate 
six acres with the hoe, or ten to twelve with the aid of a horse and 
plough. At the same time he can raise other crops suSicient to 
subsist himself and family. Twelve hundred pounds of sugar to the 
acre, is an average yield, though four thousand pounds have been 
produced. (This refers to the yield on land further north than 
Biscayne Bay ; it is very certain that the larger yield can be 
relied upon in this locality.) "The molasses is always expected to 
pay the expense of manufacturing." Col. M. A. Williams, while 
engaged in the United States survey in 1874, writes : " This country 
is attracting attention; those who are here (and there are several 
from various States, who have come since January), are perfectly 
delighted." Wm. M. Swait, who was with him, writes, "Biscayne 
Bay comes up to the preconceived idea general with strangers in 



Florida. If this place (I mean the eutire Bay), had a competent 
party to write it up as it is, into notice, the larger part of the travel 
and investment would undoiibtedly center here.'" " The whole of 
Biscayne Bay, is far more beautiful than the scenery along the 
Indian river and the St. Johns." ****** ^^Q jj^gj. j^g^.g 
a Mr. Samuel Eogers, of Omaha, seeking health, and a desirable 
tropical home for his family. After carefully plodding over the 
beaten track, the St. Johns and Indian river, he finally selected this 
as the Eldorado he had been seeking. Mr. Rogers is one of the 
founders of the new thriving city of Omaha." Under date of May 
30th, he writes: "The nights are always pleasant, calling for a 
blanket before morning. I must admit, that with the exception of 
Key Largo, I have not found mosquitoes any thing as bad on the 
whole, as I was led to believe." ***** A Mr. Joi^es, of 
New York, reported to be very wealthy, says, "he has traveled 
over the continent of Europe two or three times ; has visited all of 
the Islands of the Mediterranean in search of a climate favorable to 
his (heart) disease. He decides unequivocally in favor of the Bay, 
and announces his intention to buy a small tract of land, put up a 
splendid cottage, stock an orchard complete in every fruit suitable, 
have his steam yacht on hand for his convenience to travel anywhere ; 
but his liome must be here. The climate he says, is far more agree- 
able and delightful the year round than any he has found." He has 
been boarding with Mr. Addison for one or two seasons. We see 
plenty of deer, and one of our party on Sunday killed one and 
wounded another. Mr. No yes brought in a live fawn and saw ten 
yesterday, although too shy to get a shot. Partridges are numer- 
ous. I wish I could have time to write fully on the fruits that 
could be grown here. Bananas, plantains, etc., the year around. The 
Rev. D. W. W. Hicks, of Miami, Biscayne Bay, Dade county, in a 
speech, made before the Florida Fruit Growers Association, said : 
"Mr. President and gentlemen — I place myself below 'the frost 
•line ' and Avithin a territory, the most beautiful by nature, and the 
most susceptible to the atte^itions of industrial art, probably, on the 
<;ontinent. It may not compare in rugged grandeur Avith the far 
West, up the canyons of the Yellowstone, or within the picturesque 
Talleys of the Rocky mountains; but more beautiful, because with 
us, nature is in repose and at rest, holding in her lap the riches of 
a semitroi)ical clime, adorned with the perpetual bloom of Spring, 
and regaled with the unceasing concerts of the oriole and mocking 
bird. ****** "w^iio can do justice to that climate ? 



The sick are restored to health, the poor may speedily become rich 
by industry. * * * * While borne upon every breeze is the 
balmy health giving breath of the Gulf Stream." Byron" in one of 
his rhapsodies, speaks of being " intoxicated with eternity." The 
sentiment seems vague and almost unnatural, but whoever casts 
himself into the eddying blessings of the climate of which I speak, 
will, if he have a spark of sentiment, forgive the poet's license. 
The rheumatic and the consumptive, with ordinary care, lose their 
ailments with us. Eighteen months ago, one came from the 
hyperborean regions of the North, lame and almost despairing. He 
was accompanied with crutches. A few months enabled him to 
throw them aside, and to-day you would rejoice to take a tramp 
with him through the Coon tie forest, or better still a sail in his boat 
upon the bosom of the Bay of Biscayne. He is well. Rheumatism 
and my friend have parted company, and his crutches are the relics 
of a past age. The climate suits the consumptive, because rude, 
abrupt changes in the atmosphere are almost unknown. The Gulf 
Stream hugs our shores so devotedly that from the North, North- 
east, East, Southeast and South, no cbill can obtrude upon us. The 
strongest breeze is tempered with a warm and genial spirit. It is 
impossible to conceive of a more perfect climate, taking it all in 
all. Of course we have plenty of sunshine, and hot sunshine too ; 
but with the sunshine comes the breeze, and not a day in the whole 
year need be lost on account of the heat. ****** jf 
the soil is thin, for the most part it is very rich and yields abund- 
ently. The rock is near the surface Avhen it does not protrude and 
is soft, nutritious to plants, and otherwise valuable and useful. 
"What will grow there?" Every thing that I see about me in this 
hall except discontent ! (The platform on which the gentleman 
stood was covered with various fruits : oranges, lemons, limes, 
citrons, bananas, and many varieties of vegetables.) This looks like 
home. I see familiar things, but miss more than I recognize ! I 
think I must yield the palm to you in oranges, but in all other 
varieties of citrus, you must take a back seat. Our guava is a 
royal heritage, only we have not yet found how to market them. 
We have about twenty varieties and thousands upon thousands of 
bearing trees. The fruit delicious to a cultivated taste fresh from 
the tree, while every housewife in the land, and every lover of 
sweets, can descant with eloquence upon the marmalades and jellies 
made of this desirable fruit. The tree is hardy with us, and will 
take cure of and propagate itself, and is on terms of great cordiality 



9 

with owY rocky plantations. It sliould bear in tliree years. Ours is 
the natural country of the lime, lemon and citron; children of a 
common stock. We have several varieties of the lime. The trees 
are of rapid growth, constant bearers, very prolific, subject to no 
disease, and very tenacious of life. The fruit is large, " How large ? " 
as a Sicily lemon, I consider the lime as profitable as the orange, 
and more so, with ns. It should be cultivated for cifj-ic acid, of 
which it yields more than any other fruit. The time will come 
when our part of Florida will supply citric acid to the world. A 
peck of limes will yield a gallon of juice ; one and a half gallons 
of juice should produce one pound of citric acid, which in the 
markets of the world should bring $1.25 in gold. * * * Lime 
trees will bear in three years and can be planted as thick as black- 
berry bushes, but to cultivate them, they should be eight to ten feet 
apart. Too much attention can not be given to this matter. Citric 
acid is a commodity always, everywliere, .uid Inoieasiui^ly ia demaiiu. 
The lime belt is narrow and limited. Ours is the most productive 
in the world. The limes are larger than those of any other country 
and the percentage of acid is perceptibly gi-eater. Fortunes await 
in this department of industry alone, and the outlay of money to 
get a start is insignificant compared to the planting of an orange 
grove. Ours is the country of the palm and the cocoanut. The 
tree grows with us enormously and bears continuously. They are 
meat and drink in a thirsty land. Then we have the mango and 
maiimee ajjple, fruits one soon becomes familiar with, after which, 
intimacy is never interrupted. But the sugar apple is, from my 
point of view and experience, the choicest of all. There is noth- 
ing comparable to it. " Exquisite " is a nice word, and orange, 
mango, maumee, avocado pear, pine-apple, banana, are names, the 
bare mention of which sets one's mouth watering, but gentlemen, 
they are all, compared with the sugar apple, common things! I can 
give you no adequate idea of it, and I will not attempt to put my 
experience of its lusciousness into mere English, for after all is said 
that may be said, the apple itself must be seen, handled (very tend- 
erly) and eaten when, gentlemen, you must come down to Dade to 
eat the proof of my words. (Some one in the audience; can't you 
send ns a few ?) No ; for two or three reasons. First, to pull a 
sugar apple is to eat it. Second, some one would be sure to capture 
it on the way. Third, it must be eaten where it grows. (Solon" 
RoBixsoN — How docs it taste ?) Ah ! my friend, ask the lover how 
the pure kissof affection tastes, and he will describe it accurately. 
The fruit immortalizes our country, and a true description of its 
2 



10 

deliciousness, its creamy, frosted sweetness, its fragrance beneath 
the dimpled protecting ring will immortalize its author. Of the 
alligator pear, I need not speak at large. They are brought in large 
quantities to Key West from Cuba every year, and readily sell at 
from forty to seventy-five cents per dozen. They grow well with 
us. The fruit is large, and love of it is acquired ; but once truly 
relished, bread is at a discount. Ours is the banana's own country, 
and shortly this delicious and valuable fruit will receive a large 
share of our attention. The pine-cqrpU belongs to us ; nothing 
grows better. It is peculiarly adapted to our rock soil, and will 
thrive and bear fruit if a hole is made in the soft rock for its 
accommodation. Our soft rock is admirably adapted for build- 
ing purposes. It is easily worked but soon hardens when ex- 
posed to the sun and air, and then coheres like public plunder! 
When burned it is first-rate for lime and mortar, and also as a 
fertilizer." Mr. Hicks in answer to the question, whether he would 
advise emigration, said, "yes; but I would advertise to all, that it 
is no country for a lazy man without means. A man with money to 
keep him in necessaries for a couple of years could get a paying start 
and so go on to fortune. Industry pays quite as well there as in 
any part of the globe." E. M. Bache, of Philadelphia, author of 
" The Young Wrecker of the Florida Eeef," writes : " The climate 
of Biscayne Bay, like that of all the Eeef, is wonderfully equable 
and pleasant, insular in its character, rarely oppresively hot in the 
shade, and during most of the year leaving nothing to be desired 
regarding enjoyability, the only trying weather being an occasional 
"norther." Fish as well as turtle, are abundant, and game of 
various kinds on the land. The impressions I have about the soil, 
is that it is very fertile ; I do not see how, from its formation, it 
could be otherwise." Capt. Gibbs of Buffalo, N. Y., writes from 
Biscayne Bay, under dates of March 14th and April 7th, and 25th, 
1876 (to his Avife and Mr. J. P. Trible) : " I am in love with this 
country; the climate is simply everything that is beautiful, it is all 
and more than all that has been said of it. Tbere has never been a 
case of ague that I can hear of. I do not wish to come back, and 
shall not if you will come down here. I have not had an ache, pain, 
cough or sneeze, since I have been here." (He left Buffalo with a bad 
cough.) " Two men can raise more stuff, off from ten acres of land 
here, than four times the number can from a hundred aCres in the 
North. With irrigation in the winter season, there is no end to 
the growth of everything. Squashes (they call them pumpkins 
here) once planted, grow forever. Sweet potatoes the same, and 



11 

many other things.'' ***** There is a man from Orange 
county, who says the pine hmd here is better than in Orange county, 
and lie is coming down to settle, this side of New River, so as to get 
below the frost line. * * * Bermuda grass grows luxuriantly. 
I have seen it on both pine and hammock lands. You can have 
green peas, new potatoes, cabbage, onions, etc., every month in the 
year, they had them at Christmas and Now Years." Capt. Gibbs 
proposes to plant on the place he has purchased on the Bay, ten 
thousand cocoanut trees, which are expected to bear in six years, 
and will require no care whatever, save to be fenced in for protection 
from stock |while growing. One hundred nuts to the tree (which 
is only one fourth what may be expected when in full bearing) 
would give a pretty fair income, at the lowest price $15.00 per 
thousand, paid on the ground by buyers. Daniel G. BEiNTOiT, 
A. M., M. D., in his book for tourists, and invalids, ("Florida and 
the South "), says of Biscayne Bay: " Undoubtedly the finest winter 
climate in the United States, both in point of temperature and 
health, is to be found on the Southeastern coast of Florida. It is 
earnestly to be hoped, for the sake of invalids, that accommodations 
along the shore at Key Biscayne, and at the mouth of the Miami, 
will before long be provided. While it is the verg best, it could 
also be made the most accessible part of the sea coast of Florida, as 
the whole journey from the North could be made by water. Game 
as deer, bear, turkeys, etc. , etc., very abundant in the pine woods, 
which extend along the coast, and fish swarm in countless numbers 
in the bay. Turtle of the finest kinds can be caught on the islets off 
the shore. Oysters are plentiful. The abundance of game on the 
shore ridge from Cape Sable to Miami, led it to be chosen as a 
favorite spot of resort by the Indians, and it is still distinctively 
known as the * Hunting Grounds.' " Dr. Brinton continues on 
page one hundred and twenty-eight of his book, " and these are the 
words of Dr. R. F, Simpson, U. S. A., writing about Fort Dallas, 
on the Miami. The very spot I have been maintaining approaches 
the nearest, the model climate for consumptives; I have been 
on duty at most of the posts in Florida, but none compare 
with this for salubrity. The sea coast of south east Florida, there- 
fore fulfills the four conditions which make up the best climate 
for a consumptive. I have other testimony about it, well worth 
presenting. It, too, comes from the same unimpeachable source, 
the medical statistics of the United States Army. We are inquir- 
ing particularly about throat and lung complaints. These army 
statistics are here of immense importance. They specify the 



12 

diseases of each station. I have taken these four. Consumption 
(phthisis puhnonalis), bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs (pneu- 
monia) and pleurisy ; and have ascertained their relative frequency 
at various points in the South. Here are the results, omitting 
fractions. In Arkansas, each year, one man in every sixteen came 
under the surgeons hands, with one or the other of these diseases ; 
on the southern frontier of Texas, also one in sixteen ; at Baton 
Rouge, La., one in seventeen; on the western frontier in Texas, 
one in nineteen ; on the west coast of Florida, one in twenty-one ; 
on the east coast of Florida, one in tJiirty-nine. This is confirma- 
tion strong indeed. Even in the favored northwest we may look in 
vain for any thing equal to it. The sick reports of St. Paul, Minn., 
show one in every nineteen, yearly treated for these complaints. * 
* * * * j^w that is needed to make it one of the most eligi- 
ble spots in the South for the invalid or the tourist, are a few well- 
kept, moderate priced hotels and weekly steamers. * * * * 
I have already detailed at some length the position, soil, etc., of 
Biscayne Bay, but as already said, I build for the future, and not 
the present. It has the lest warm climate in the United States for 
invalids and it deserves to become a much frequented resort." The 
reader will bear in mind that Biscayne Bay is between the same 
degrees of latitude as that of the Island of New Providence, on 
which Nasaftu is situated. 

The Perrine Grant — Biscayne Bay. 

The facts embraced in the preceding pages, apply to various por- 
tions of Biscayne Bay. Before condensing the reports of Col. 
Williams and Mr. Wm. M. Swan, in regard to their survey of the 
land in 1874, it may be well to explain to the reader the history of 
the"Perrine grant." Dr. Henry Perrine, while United States 
Consul, at Campeche, in Yucatan, in 1827, received a circular from 
EiCHARD EusH, Secretary of ■Stme, under John Quincy Adams^ 
commencing as follows : " The Presid.ent of United States is desir- 
ous of causing to be introduced into the United States, all such 
trees and plants from other countries, not heretofore known in the 
United States, as may give promise under proper cultivation, of 
flourishing and becoming useful, as well as superior varieties of such 
as are already cultivated here. To this end I have his instructions 
to address myself to you, invoking your aid to give effect to the plan f 
he has in view, etc., etc." In obedience to that circular, Dr. Per-j 
HiNE devoted nine years of his life to collecting and transmitting; 
to the United States, the valuable plants and seeds of the tropics, a 



13 

list and description of which will be found in the printed reports of 
Congress in 1838. Upon his return to this country Congress granted 
to him a township of land to be located in Florida, below the twenty- 
sixth degree of north latitude. In 1840, while engaged in the culti- 
vation and domesticating these plants upon the islands of Indian Key 
and Matacumba, preparatory to their removal to the township after 
the Seminole war should cease, an attack was madeupon Indian Key 
by the Indians, in overwhelming force. Dr. Perrine with , 
others was killed, his family, after a concealment of nine hours j 
in the water under a wharf, during which time their house ' 
was plundered and burned within a few feet of their place of ' 
retreat, and after miraculously escaping death from both suf- I 
focation and fire, providentially escaped from the Island in a I 
boat which the Indians were loading with plunder from a store. ; 
Congress in 1841, by a supplementary act, gave to the family of | 
Dr. Perrixe the same rights before granted to him. Among | 
the most valuable of the many plants introduced by him into J 
Florida, was the Agave Sisalana, (the important Hemp of com- | 
merce) * * growing now in great abuiKlau.ee in nmuy localities, a 
and especially on Key West and Key Vacas, as well as on the lands I 
bordering upon Biscayne Bay. The township was duly located in / 
accordance with the conditions of tlie grant. Owing to various | 
causes beyond their control, but little has been done by the family 
toward effecting a settlement of this valuable tract. It is their 
intention now to offer such favorable inducements to settlers as 
will bring together a goodly sized colony in this favored locality. 
So much of the land at and near the Miami, (the northern portion 
of the bay), being held under old Spanish titles, has made an undis- 
puted title an impossibility, and prevented settlers from locating. 
The " Perrine grant," being direct from the United States, cannot 
be disputed. It will be seen by the letters given hereafter from the 
surveyors, (Col. Williams and Mr. Swan), that they are candid 
and impartial witnesses. They have in their surveys been all over 
the land, and in their report give the worst side as well as the best. 
Col. M. A. Williams, under date of Aug. 6, 1875, writes: "I have 
in my surveys been upon every part of the ' Perrine grant.' It 
commences at a point on the west side of Biscayne Bay, about 
opposite to the best inlet to the bay from the sea, and I tliink about 
from nine to eleven feet of water, can be carried to within about 
two or three hundred yards of the shore at an exceedingly rich and 
beautiful locality upon the claim. This particular place is settled 
upon by a man na)ned Addison, and embraces some two or three 



14 

hundred acres of excellent lands. There is a large quantity of high 
land (that is high for that country). In this grant there are in 
many places, small hammocks which are exceedingly rich, there are 
also passing through the claim several savannahs, through which 
in wet seasons the water passes from the Everglades to the 
sea. The face of the country is exceedingly rocky, rocky beyond 
anything that you will imagine, but the climate is pleasant and 
healthy, and the mosquitoes not at all troublesome during the winter 
months. The Miami and the country adjacent ujjon the bay is sim- 
ilar in all respects to the Perrine claim, probably not quite so rocky, 
but my favorite place upon the lay is the Addison place upon the 
Perrine grant. Th^re is a beautiful sand beach in front of this 
section upon the bay, and it extends South for a mile, probably a 
mile and a half." Labor is scarce, it would be best to take it along, 
the same of house servants. There is timber enough for all build- 
ing purposes, if there were saw-mills. The country is remarkaUy 
healthy, and the climate in winter and saving cannot le excelled, it is 
pleasant even in summer. It is attractive, and will doubtless be 
well populated at no distant day. The great trouble is the want of 
facilities to get to and from it. It is a splendid game country upon 
the Perrine grant. The water is pure and good. At the Addison" 
place there are some very remarkable springs, some of them 
mineral. Mr. Wm. A. Swan, under date of April 10, 1876, writes, 
in answer to the question, what time is the best for northerners 
to come to the bay ? " The charm and chief merit of this locality 
is its equability of climate. The months of May and June I 
was at and near Addison's; there was no night that I did 
not use my blanket, and frequently my double blanket, and I 
learned from all sources that the only perceptible difference in 
the seasons was more northers in the winter months ; they usually 
last about three days. Hence I would say any season was desirable. 
Of course it is hot, but the constant sea breeze makes it invariably 
pleasant. The bay is the sanitarium, so to speak, where tlie gar- 
rison at Key West was sent every year to avoid yellow fever, and 
if it were made accessible, I do not see that there would be any 
comparison betAveen it and Long Branch and Newport, in regard to 
the natural attractions and advantages. And here should be the 
location of the *' National Botanical Garden," referred to in the 
pamphlet I sent you to-day. At Addisons' you can wade out half 
a mile before you get overhead, over a bottom of clean, white, 
smooth polislied rock, and certainly no more deliglitful bathing can 
be found winter or summer. There is nothing in the masses of 



15 

rotted seaweed, grass, etc., that line the shores of this entire region^ 
and Indian River, to create malaria. At least the same is found 
wherever our troops were located, and they never got sick from any 
such cause. Besides, if a settlement were made, this mass would 
soon be utilized by applying to fruit trees, gardens, etc. Our tents 
•were pitched upon beds of it, and the only injurious results, if any, 
were increased voracity of ai^ietite ! Added to the natural beauty 
of the bay, are the colors of the water, from the transparent crystal 
to every shade of the rainbow. The latter is produced from alternate 
banks of sea-grass, saw-grass, minute shells and black and brown rock. 
Game is abundant. Except the ten days we were in the everglades, 
we were hardly ever without fresh venison and fish, and soft-shell 
turtle always. On the lay, salt water fish of all varities ; mullet, 
bass, trout, sheephead, carvalho, pompiuo, grunts, flounders, and in 
a pretty little creek of fresh water that runs into and out of Addi- 
sons hammock (and which is the water station supplying the Keys 
above and below in dry seasons), can be found bream, trout, etc. 
At Black Point, about twelve miles below (I believe) may be found 
any quantity of large fat oysters and clams, the largest I ever saw ; 
Col. Williams says the best he " ever ate." In speaking of other 
attractions for the mere tourist or invalid, Mr. W. says : " A sail 
also over to the light-house, among the cocoanut and other fruit 
trees, then up to the north end of the bay, 15 or 25 miles ; or stop 
at Miami River. At the mouth of the river are two of the finest 
locations in the world. The site of old Fort Dallas, with its fields 
of guavas, bananas and cocoanuts, that fringe the shore, in all stages 
from the bud to the ripe fruit." * * * * jj^ the four months 
time we were in the vicinity of the bay, in and through hammock,, 
marshes, prairie, or otherwise, we did not see a rattlesnake, nor did 
we see but three moccasins. The presence of so many deer and 
hogs, who are their natural enemies, may account for this." Mr. 
Swan also writes: " It is not usually known the full maturity, size- 
and flavor of the Florida pine-apple, as compared with those of 
other markets., sucli as the Bahamas, etc. A judicious placing in 
market of the Florida pine-apple and banana, would secure for 
them a preference over all else, and establish a reputation that 
would enhance their value, and stimulate there production to a 
great degree, as well as bringing this portion of the State into that 
prominence which its merits so demand^ Again he writes : *' They 
tell me here that two men, with mule and cart, usually make one 
hundred dollars per month, gathering and preparing thecoontie for 
market. One hand gathers twelve barrels of the root, which makes 



16 

about one and a third barrels of marketable coontie or what is known 
as Florida arrow-root. The roots much resemble tlie Rutabaga tur- 
nip. It is washed and ground, then put in a stand, and water applied, 
stirred thoroughly and left to settle about two hours, or until the 
starch " thick as soft cheese " settles to the bottom. Then draw off 
all the water and change to another stand, separating the light 
coontie which collects on the top, leaving the pure article in the 
first stand, to which sufficient water should be added to give a 
consistency thin enough to facilitate its passage through the finest 
sieve or strainer. Place it in dryers containing twenty-five pounds 
each. In two days of good weather it is ready for market. The 
refuse or ''mash " is fed to stock: horses, hogs, poultry, all thrive 
well upon it. By boiling the skimmings, a substance as hard as 
bread is produced, which keeps well, and fattens hogs for market as 
readily and as well as corn." A small saw mill is also suggested on 
the point of economy, if nothing else, that you might have your 
own lumber sawed on the spot, for your cottages, besides the neces- 
sary boards for paling, wharf, etc., thereby saving the risk and 
freight in shipments either from Jacksonville, Key West or New 
York. As. I before mentioned, lumber is from thirty to fifty dollars 
per thousand at Key West, and you could manufacture and sell all 
you did not want for your settlers to the settlers between you and 
the Miami as well as on the Keys. Timber (pitch pine, no sap) is 
abundant, and right at hand. Attachmen ts could also be fixed for run- 
ning coontie, sugar, and gristmills. A great drawback to"settlers will 
be the inconvenience of procuring lumber. When the war in Cuba 
is closed a great demand will spring up for cross ties ; and as this 
is the nearest point to Cuba (about 200 miles) a decided advantage 
is gained by a party engaging in the business here. The quantity is 
inexhaustible and just the size suitable for this business. A small 
stock of goods, would be indispensable, as the nearest store is at 
Miami, and it Avould pay in supplying the large number of small 
coasters, spongers, etc., almost constantly in the Cove ; coming in 
for water, etc., as also for the convenience of the laborers and 
settlers on the mainland and Keys. Everything in the line of 
poultry, eggs, vegetables and fruit, finds a ready market at Key 
West." In compiling the foregoing facts, there may appear to be 
something like repetition ; but it is owing to the endeavor to give 
reliable testimony, which is of course cumulative in its nature; and 
being from different and disinterested persons, touches upon the 
same point oftentimes. One objective point is to induce, if pos- 
sible, a goodly number of families of culture and refinement, who 



17 

are desirous of seeking new liomes to join us in forming a settlement 
upon our grant. We do not wish any to go wlio expect that there 
will be no discomforts to encounter, or tiiat they can at once step 
into the enjoyments of all the comforts of a luxurious home with- 
out worhing for them. Neither should any go (unless in the 
employ of others) who have not sufficient means to enable them to 
procure supplies for their own subsistence for at least one or two 
years. The larger capital one has, tlie sooner of course, he can 
place himself in a pleasant home and lay the foundation for future 
competence. Intelligent and well directed industry in tlie cultiva- 
tion of any one of the staples mentioned, viz : sugar cane, sea 
island cotton, tobacco, and coontie, will yield quicker returns than 
tropical fruits. The banana, pine apple, and. fig, can be relied on to 
commence bearing in from eighteen months to two years from set- 
ting out, so that thereafter there will be an assured income from 
those delicious fruits alone. Limes, lemons, oranges, tamarind and 
cocoanuts require longer delay, but when once in full bearing there 
can be no surer or more permanent source of income than these. 
Grapes also thrive most luxuriously. In the Everglades upon the 
islands grow large, luscious, tender grapes, which, by cultivation, 
would become an important article of commerce. It is believed 
that all of the varieties of our hot-house grapes can be cultivated 
in this latitude with great success. 

As an inducement to settlers, we will, to each of the first thirtv- 
tive families (who will k t - Oct o ber op -3^^^¥«BaJ^r of tbie-year, locate 
themselves upon our land with a view to permanent settlement), 
donate twenty acres of land free of charge, save the condition of 
erecting a dwelling place thereon, and agreeing to cultivate at least 
one useful tropical plant. For others who desire to engage largely 
in the cultivation of the staples named, and who wish to purchase 
larger tracts of land for that purpose, we will give information as 
to terms, etc., on application to us. We will also dispose of a 
limited number of lots, of one and two acres each, at " Perrine,'' 
the most eligible location on the bay for a town, called at present 
Addisons' Landing. Both for those who expect to make permanent 
homes for themselves, and those who wish for winter residences in 
the South, this is a most favorable opportunity to procure building 
sites at reasonable rates. None will be sold unless on condition that 
a neat and substantial house shall be erected thereon within one 
year from date of purchase. When it is lemembered that in addi- 
tion to the other advantages, the temperature of this favored 
spot is so equable that it does not vary in some years more than 



18 

twenty-five degrees, its advantages as a resort for invalids will be 
evident. 

All communications in regard to this land can be addressed 
to 

HENRY E. PEERINE, 

^Z^ ^^^^=Mmn- Street, Buffalo, N. ¥., or to 

'■ / i / 

j)otj JAMES E. WALKER, 

,0/1 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
014 499 852 2 • 



